71–80 of 100 posts
For one Hubble, something like a dozen of Keyhole spy telescopes have been launched [0]. Just imagine the kind of science we would have gotten if we launched a dozen of Hubbles instead... [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-11_Kennen
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And I really fail to see why we build ONE James Webb. What of there is anomaly at launch? Why not build two? If one fails, we have another. If both launch, we have two telescopes! (Well, I don't know how difficult to have to instruments bobbing around L2 point). Most of the price of JW is research and development anyway. It will not be 2x the price, it will be much less, so even if we ignore the possible scientific o…
First rule in government spending: Why build one when you can have two at twice the price? If only this was true.
nicely done.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think about this a lot. We are the first people in human history to see the planets up close, so to speak. For thousands of years, humans stared up at the sky and watched these luminous dots change position over time. They made up stories about them, tracked them, designed instruments to turn these blurry, luminous dots into slightly-less-blurry luminous dots. But in this long human journey of thousands of years, w…
These images are amazing, but I do feel that we as a society just sort of take them for granted now. However, I would highly recommend finding a local star party in your area. There is nothing like putting your eyeball on a telescope and seeing things for yourself. Yes, it will not be nearly as detailed as NASA images, but it will still impress. For all of those made up stories you mentioned, I shed a tear every time…
For one Hubble, something like a dozen of Keyhole spy telescopes have been launched [0]. Just imagine the kind of science we would have gotten if we launched a dozen of Hubbles instead... [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-11_Kennen
Looks like a painting. How cool is it that we actually have the technology to finally see these odd planets!?
I looked at the Jupiter and Saturn with a modest 14 inch telescope last week https://www.darkskyproject.co.nz/tours/crater-experience/ The two planets themselves, and the four large moons of Jupiter and of course the rings of Saturn were all very visible, and this kind of old school technology has been available for hundreds of years. But basically I agree, Hubble and robot planetary exploration are awesome.
For one Hubble, something like a dozen of Keyhole spy telescopes have been launched [0]. Just imagine the kind of science we would have gotten if we launched a dozen of Hubbles instead... [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-11_Kennen
I think one can readily argue (and I'm a physicist, so I really love outward-looking telescopes) that reconnaissance satellites will tend to make the world a more-peaceful place. Uncertainty can lead humans to make decisions to handle a worst-case scenario that isn't actually taking place. High-quality imaging makes it difficult for nation-states to bluff or to understate the scale of decay/disaster and allows for fi…
There is absolutely no evidence of this. The example you cite has not seen any concrete action taken, China is left to act with impunity.
On the contrary, along with imaging military installations of rival states, they are probably mostly used to surveil targets for the ever-expanding global assassination and missile strike program run by the United States. A recent example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Qasem_Soleima...
I think spending some of that money on science (even earth-facing science) would have a far better return in peace dividend, and might actually make the rest of the world view the US as it apparently still sees itself (as the benevolent overseer of world peace).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The famous "deep field" image from Hubble almost didn't happen, at least for many more years, due to limited time availability[0]. > “The telescope allocation committee would never have approved such a long, risky project,” Other similar "high risk" experiments would be more likely to occur if time constraints were not such a concern. [0]: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/04...
Hubble’s replacement, James Webb, could offer us an opportunity to have a second space telescope. We just need to figure out how to repair the Hubble.
Looks like a painting. How cool is it that we actually have the technology to finally see these odd planets!?
I looked at the Jupiter and Saturn with a modest 14 inch telescope last week https://www.darkskyproject.co.nz/tours/crater-experience/ The two planets themselves, and the four large moons of Jupiter and of course the rings of Saturn were all very visible, and this kind of old school technology has been available for hundreds of years. But basically I agree, Hubble and robot planetary exploration are awesome.